Author
Topic: Ship's boats (Read 7477 times)

My project continues with Danube V/VI and like most modelers always have a couple of aspects going for we all have to wait for glue or finishing resin or paint to dry before proceeding. Whilst waiting for the rudder to dry before priming and then adding riveting to it i have turned my attention to the ship's boats.

These for my boat appear to be clinker double-bow ed boats and working on the size of 9 1/2".

Shape:On the steam tug boats of the thirties were the bow posts vertical and with a rounded corner to the keel spar or were the posts obliquely angled.

Colour scheme:I have seen on one of the Danube tugs such boats with red coating below the waterline but as this was a late photograph I assume that the ship's boats would originally have been white on the outside. For the inside would this have been white or a cream.Fittings Would there have been polished wood. Interior construction seats floor planks etc. The floor wooden planks or wooden or metal grating? Would the metal fittings for oars etc have been brass or iron.

Were these boats tiller-less or had a tiller.

Was the name of the tug painted on the bow or painted onto a plaque then fastened to the boat or engraved into boat or plaque.

Toby, your first paragraph pretty well described my morning painting chains and parts so they will be dry for there next step.

As I read your request for information about your model tug's boats. I assumed someone here on the Forum would just write you the shapes and name placesthat you seek. And then I read Gerhard's simple and very much to the point recommendation to just go to the Royal Museum and see a picture of a model like your project; a picture worth a thousand words.

Only here on the Forum can I see a set of questions answered so perfectly.Thank you Toby and Gerhard for working it out so well, I learned muchalso.

Michael

Logged

Yet another case of why men and women go down to the sea in ships. . .A pleasure to be here and smell the salt air. Thank you Tugboat Forum. . .Michael in Anacortes, Washington www.twotugboats.com

That`s how I do it always. Watch out for the museum`s pages, there are so much hints to find. In my " other life" I plan a 1:50 scale model of the prussian SMS DANZIG, searching since over 5 Years. So I`ve got a lot of expirience in searching out for things, and why not share them to others.

Hi Toby . Painted inside with the same colour as the main casing brown. rudder and oars stored under the canvas.all very basic as working on the river and estuary they probably hoped never to use them.I remember when I was younger on my 13th birthday actually, My Dad who was chief engineer on a tug at the time was standing by as the tug was having a refit at Ramsgate, and they lifted the lifeboats into the water alongside and they actually sank, where they had been in the davits for years alongside the hot funnel and in the summer sun all the seams. And planking had dried out, that was a bit of a shock to a young lad at the time, it was not until I was a bit older that I learnt that on ships at sea with wooden boats ,the norm was to keep water in them at all times to keep them tight, Geo.

I just found that by typing "Tugboat Danube V/VI" at google. The builder of the model is named as "Unknown" , but I expect the model as a shipyard model for the future owner, made by Cochrane and sons. Maybe I`complete wrong with that, here comes the text from the museum

"Scale: 1:48. Builder's full hull model representing the 'Danube V' and 'Danube VI' (both 1935), tugs. It is a superb model of a perennially popular subject among modelmakers, particularly among working model enthusiasts. The example here is very fine with its gold-plated fittings, applied penwork to the superstructure, intricately made fittings and virtually flawless paintwork. The ‘Danube V’ and ‘Danube VI’ were designed for the Tilbury Contracting and Dredging Company for their own business, and built by Cochrane & Sons, Selby, and measured 110 feet in length and just over 240 gross registered tons. Both tugs were a common sight on the River Thames and approaches to it. During the Second World War ‘Danube V’ towed the Mulberry Harbour units and ‘Danube VI’ took part in the D-Day landings. Both tugs became the property of Westminster Dredging Ltd., in 1965, and were scrapped three years later in Belgium.Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/67477.html#5Cieu53XqEpsdKl5.99 "

Most of that models were made for the reason of just showing the owners what they will get, and for their offices to let the customers know what the owners do.

I have uploaded the photos for reference albeit add having built this model yourself there are a number of things which appear not to tally with that line drawing or the photos we have observed. This is why to date I had thought that this was a general model donated rather than it being The shipsmodel as we generally associate with drawing office/shipyard models.

No fly bridge being the first 'omission'.

Anyhow they will be useful as all input helps to confirm or deny model matters. A close-up of the rudder mechanism along the deck would have mem interesting.

Re the rudder on the life boats did the rudder have the pins and the boat have hoops in which the pins dropped into our visa -versa.